Greatest Of All Legends

Chapter 109: First Start II

After the warm-up routines were completed, the players of both teams headed back down the tunnels to make their final preparations for the match.

In the Porto dressing room, Sergio Conceicao gave a last-minute revision of the game plan and he reminded each player of their roles and duties in making sure their team came out on top at the end of the match.

Jason removed his training vest, checked his shin guards, and adjusted his gloves and shoelaces as he listened to the manager, staving off the little anxiety that rose within his chest.

Soon enough, the manager was done and the players headed to the tunnels where they lined up, awaiting their cue to come on the pitch.

Jason waited while rubbing his hands nervously, and before long, the referees in the lead started walking out, and the players immediately followed after them.

Walking out of the tunnel and onto the field to begin the pre-kickoff rituals wasn’t an entirely new experience for Jason, but to him, it signified a new beginning.

He had risen to yet another milestone after being given a second chance at his dreams and he swore to himself right there and then, that come rain, come shine, he would do his best to become the best no matter what happened.

Things may not end up in his favor and he may not achieve what he wants despite giving it his all, but as long as he still had enough in him to stand on the pitch, he would keep hauling himself to the top even if he had to crawl to get there.

While he casually had this inner monologue that would have a significant effect on his mindset and drive in the years to come, he lined up beside his teammates and shook the hands of the referees and the other players.

After they were done shaking hands, the rest of the team left to wait on a side of the pitch while the captains of both teams went to the referee for the coin toss.

Pepe won the coin toss and chose to pass first before he headed to their side of the field with the rest of his teammates and they arranged themselves according to their formation.

After a little wait for the Santa Clara team to arrange themselves as well, the match finally kicked off at 7:30 pm.

Ze Luis sent the ball out of the center circle at Moussa Marega and Marega sent the ball further back to Sergio Oliveira.

With that, the match between Porto and Santa Clara kicked off to an exciting start.

As the stronger team, Porto was already playing exciting football that promised an exciting match by the fifth minute while managing to keep Santa Clara policed at midfield.

*7th minute*

Luiz Diaz dropped back to receive the ball and according to the manager’s instructions, he began driving forward, keeping his eyes peeled for his teammates who were open while making sure he didn’t lose the ball as well.

The Santa Clara team was of course not going to let Luiz Diaz have the ball to himself for as long as he wanted and a Santa Clara midfielder who was nearby came at Luiz Diaz and tried to snatch the ball from him, but Luiz Diaz skipped past the player with ease and sent a ball down the left wing where Ze Luis awaited.

Ze Luis trapped the ball deftly, but instead of running down the left wing where there was available space, he opted to try cutting inside and moved towards the penalty box, but he was soon being hassled by a defender while another defender stood in his path and he sent the ball infield to an awaiting Romario Baro.

Romario Baro controlled the ball’s speed and power with a precise touch and sent the ball flying at the right wing with his next touch, managing to complete his actions in less than two seconds.

Jason was being tightly marked by the Santa Clara left-back, but he still managed to receive the pass and immediately took off down the right wing, his high acceleration helping him beat his marker for pace, within a split second, but his marker soon caught up and was trying to tackle him from the side.

Jason who was finally almost at the Santa Clara penalty area suddenly did a “CR-7-style” back chop sending the ball behind him and towards his left side, while also stopping his run and stepping back to trap the ball before it ended up with a player on the opposing team.

The defender following Jason had been stunned by Jason’s sudden back chop and had been sent flying forward, only barely managing to stop himself from falling and turning back only to see Jason with the ball under his foot and staring at him as if he was waiting for him.

The loud cheers of the fans let him know he had been humiliated by the young player and for a second he lost his cool and recklessly charged at Jason, wanting to redeem himself, but Jason suddenly bent his body as if to move to the left and the Santa Clara left-back immediately followed his movement, wanting to stop him by any means possible,

But just as the Santa Clara left-back committed to the tackle, Jason suddenly changed his body movement at the last minute and his whole body surged to the right instead and Jason kicked the ball past him and followed after the ball.

The sudden change of movement triggered the defender’s instincts and he tried to follow after Jason even though it wasn’t possible with the way his body was positioned, thus he ended up tripping and falling over onto his back after he had just been shot in the head.

Jason of course wasn’t looking behind him at the player that fell over and had already picked out Moussa Marega who was running into the penalty box before sending a curling high cross for Marega to meet with his head.

Moussa Marega muscled his way through the opposition’s center-backs and rose into the air to meet the ball, his head hitting the ball as he tried to direct it goalward.

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